Miss LSU Pageant Reflection

The annual Miss LSU-USA Pageant, sponsored by Delta Zeta Sorority, took place at the LSU Student Union Theater on Sunday, March 22. Twenty-two women competed for the title of Miss LSU, all beautiful and all unique. The morning of the pageant, the ladies went through a judged interview for which they all received their scores by the time of the show. The evening began with the national anthem, sung by Miss LSU 2014, Deandra De Napoli. Following the anthem, the contestants performed their opening number: "Purple Reign." After the contestants and Napoli introduced themselves, the show began.

The first portion was the swimsuit competition. Each contestant had to strut her stuff in a swimsuit of their choice with a shawl wrapped around their waist at their entrance. If there was an award for best competitor in the swim suit portion, my choice would have to be contestant number 18, Jessica Walters; she was 5'10" and wore a dark pink swim suit that flattered her tan skin -- she looked Victoria Secret model worthy!

After the swim suit portion, the men's a cappella group, the Tiger Tenors, performed two song medleys of "Stand By Me" with "Beautiful Girls" and "Uptown Funk" with "Brick House." The crowd sang along as they got ready for the evening gown portion.

The evening gown portion was scored on overall appearance, style, and sense of confidence. All the gowns were different and each girl displayed her own style. Contestant number one, Darby Jarratt, graced the stage with a flowy, full, white dress. She had an elegant and slow walk that made her presence memorable. Contestant number 10, Ashley Barbier, took over the stage with a flawless white dress that had a sparkly top and white flowy bottom that trailed behind her. Contestant number 20, Kaelah Cobb, wore a green dress that had a sparkly top and creased bottom that moved with her every step. She was not only memorable because of her look, but she was a crowd favorite. Every entrance she made the crowd roar and scream her name.

At the end, the top five competitors were contestant numbers 2 (Sara Reams), 5 (Elizabeth Heinen),10 (Ashley Barbier),18 (Jessica Walters), and 20 (Kaelah Cobb). Each of the top five contestants had to draw a question from a fishbowl containing questions that each contestant had come up with. All of the contestants answered their questions with intelligence and poise. The competition was intense!

After saying good bye to Napoli, it was time for the new Miss LSU-USA to be crowned. The 2015 Miss LSU-USA is -- drumroll please -- Ashley Barbier!

The show was a great success and a wonderful performance for all to enjoy. Congratulations, Delta Zeta, for another great show and congratulations to our new Miss LSU, Ashley Barbier!

College As Told By Junie B. Jones

The Junie B. Jones series was a big part of my childhood. They were the first chapter books I ever read. On car trips, my mother would entertain my sister and me by purchasing a new Junie B. Jones book and reading it to us. My favorite part about the books then, and still, are how funny they are. Junie B. takes things very literally, and her (mis)adventures are hilarious. A lot of children's authors tend to write for children and parents in their books to keep the attention of both parties. Barbara Park, the author of the Junie B. Jones series, did just that. This is why many things Junie B. said in Kindergarten could be applied to her experiences in college, as shown here.

When Junie B. introduces herself hundreds of times during orientation week:

“My name is Junie B. Jones. The B stands for Beatrice. Except I don't like Beatrice. I just like B and that's all." (Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus, p. 1)

When she goes to her first college career fair:

"Yeah, only guess what? I never even heard of that dumb word careers before. And so I won't know what the heck we're talking about." (Junie B. Jones and her Big Fat Mouth, p. 2)

When she thinks people in class are gossiping about her:

“They whispered to each other for a real long time. Also, they kept looking at me. And they wouldn't even stop." (Junie B., First Grader Boss of Lunch, p. 66)

When someone asks her about the library:

“It's where the books are. And guess what? Books are my very favorite things in the whole world!" (Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus, p. 27)

When she doesn't know what she's eating at the caf:

“I peeked inside the bread. I stared and stared for a real long time. 'Cause I didn't actually recognize the meat, that's why. Finally, I ate it anyway. It was tasty...whatever it was." (Junie B., First Grader Boss of Lunch, p. 66)

15 Thing Only Early 2000's Kids Will Understand

This is it early 2000's babies, a compilation finally made for you. This list is loaded with things that will make you swoon with nostalgia.

1. Not being accepted by the late 90's kids.

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Contrary to what one may think, late 90's and early 00's kids had the same childhood, but whenever a 00's kid says they remember something on an "only 90's kids will understand" post they are ridiculed.

2. Fortune tellers.

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Every day in elementary school you would whip one of these bad boys out of your desk, and proceed to tell all of your classmates what lifestyle they were going to live and who they were going to marry.

3.Bunnicula

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You could never read this book past 8 o'clock at night out of fear that your beloved pet rabbit would come after you.

4. Silly bands.

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You vividly remember begging your parents to buy you $10 worth of cheap rubber bands that vaguely resembles the shape of an everyday object.

5. Parachutes.

The joy and excitement that washed over you whenever you saw the gym teacher pull out the huge rainbow parachute. The adrenaline that pumped through your veins whenever your gym teacher tells you the pull the chute under you and sit to make a huge "fort".